Do you impulse buy sometimes or is it always a long thought out process?

[TXHokie]

My last impulse buy was a wedding ring. Since then I've learned and no longer do impulse buys.
(jk)

 

[waggy]

depends.

if i see something i want and its under $100 i will buy it.


Now my TV's, house etc. stuff that was expensive i research the heck otu of it.

it took me a few months to get my Mitsubishi 65" tv and a few days to get my small 37" vizio.

 

[Daishiki]

Originally posted by: Rastus
I can stand in the toilet paper isle of a supermarket for hours trying to figure out exactly which one to buy. Option anxiety FTL.

Cereal does that to me.

For the most part, I know and am sure of what I'm going to get before I do, especially at the mall. The only impulse shopping I do are for cheap stuff or things that I need but never got around to buying.

 

[Platypus]

I'm obsessive compulsive about purchases.. I will research the product into the ground and lose sight of why I really needed it in the first place.

On the other hand, sometimes I like to impulse buy stuff.. really depends.

 

[soydios]

I usually decided that I want something, research it, decide that I need it, then find the best place to buy from. I try to wait for a sale price or a lucky eBay auction.

 

[Dacalo]

Almost never for me. Maybe that's why I avoided having a CC debt in college as well.

 

[AlgaeEater]

On the general day to day expenses and going out to eat, I'm quite frugal. I generally buy on "impulse" whenever it comes to upgrading or replacing something.

Case in point, if my toaster oven were to break today and I needed to go buy a replacement... instead of buying something very similar in function and price to my old one, I would probaby end up buying the newest model with the most bells and whistles.

The same thing happens to me when I upgrade my computer too. I really buy on impulse here, literally spending way over budget. (Set a budget at $600, end up spending $900)

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: Daishiki

Originally posted by: Rastus
I can stand in the toilet paper isle of a supermarket for hours trying to figure out exactly which one to buy. Option anxiety FTL.

Cereal does that to me.

For the most part, I know and am sure of what I'm going to get before I do, especially at the mall. The only impulse shopping I do are for cheap stuff or things that I need but never got around to buying.

I have the same problem with toothpaste. I miss the good old days when there was only one type of Colgate. Now there are at least thirty!

 

[dmw16]

I am, but I am trying to grow out of it. My impulse purchases have gone from a 42" TV (and a car, sorta) to a shirt or pair of pants.

 

[silverpig]

A little of A and a little of B.

What I've been doing lately is fake impulse buying. If I want something I'll make a note of it, pretend to buy it in my head, and then if I remember it a few days later and decide that I still need it, then that's a good signal that I should get it.

 

[Aikouka]

It depends. When it comes to certain things that I have to be finicky about such as TVs, I'll do research. But when it comes to maybe a video game or a movie, it's a lot more impulsive. The problem is, I'm impulsive yet I'm indecisive! So I'll pick it up with the idea of, "hell yes, I'm buying this," walk a couple feet, "well wait... do I really want this? I mean I spent some money today already." I'll walk back toward the place I got it from, "Ohh but it's not much!" You could probably take bets on what action I'll take and have some fun with it.

 

[GTaudiophile]

LOL! Very carefully thought out 99% of the time. Sometimes thought out and researched for 3-48 months in advance before I jump on it.

But in addition to that, there is sometimes also very specific budgeting involved. Don't want to buy something unless I can afford it.

 

[clickynext]

Sometimes when I impulse buy, I've thought about it long enough that I've convinced myself only that it's not an impulse buy. But at that point I haven't yet thought hard enough to realize what I'm buying is totally useless.

 

[uhohs]

i don't impulse buy too often, but sometimes a hot hot deal pops up and you only have a few minutes to act on it.

i bought $200+ headphones off ebay last week because the seller had them up for $40 less than everyone else. i had done research and reading on them in the past and knew a decent amount though.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Not much of an impulse buyer. It took me 3 or 4 visits to Costco looking at the selection before I finally settled on a GPS. I prefer to research the snot out of things first.

I'm exactly the same.

I researched the Sharp 42" AQUOS® LC-42D64U for at least 5 hours before pulling the trigger at $1,000 with free shipping :thumbsup:

How did you get it at $1k with free shipping? It's showing $1800 now. I thought B&M electronic stores were always way overpriced, except maybe on black friday.

To answer the question, I never impulse buy, and spend quite awhile researching expensive items.

 

[funkymatt]

the aquos was a friends/family deal. i decided against it since i already have a tube TV.

 

[flexy]

when i buy computer-stuff its alway extremely well thought out, only after reading reviews

 

[piasabird]

I have become a lot less willing to use a credit card or a line of credit to purchase anything. I have not purchased a computer in about 5 years. I plan on buying a second hand P4 next week from the place where I work for $40.00.

 

[MagicConch]

I earmark a certain amount of cash to waste on impulse buys and proactively make an effort to only buy stuff with that money I buy w/o too much thought and just what I feel like. I care nothing for sales though so if something is reduced in price it really doesn't get me to buy it.

 

[amdskip]

I pretty much think out every purchase and it drives the woman crazy. I actually purchased a $200 miter saw from amazon about a month ago and I shipped it back when I realized it just wasn't big enough. I have been on the edge of buying the $494 model since then and I may just purchase it here soon...

 

[Kanalua]

I hate when I have some extra money and it's just burning a hole in my pocket!

then the impulse buys start occurring...

 

[potato28]

Most of my big buys aren't impulse, but everything else is an impulse buy.

 

[Jeff7]

What would a thread be without an xkcd link?

 

[slpaulson]

I usually research the crap out of any electronics purchases.

 

[ultimatebob]

Don't you hate it when you research the hell out of a purchase under $500 like a cell phone or a PDA and it ends up being junk anyway? Even through everyone says how great it is, you somehow end up getting the lemon of the bunch.

It's like a double whammy... Not only did you get a crummy product, but you wasted all that time researching it!